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Jordan Fucci led the Commodores with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

■ Brooks Ely scored 30 points, including a basket with 24 seconds to go in the third quarter that put West Jessamine ahead for good in a 73-66 victory against Madison Central in Nicholasville. David McCorvey added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Colts.

■ Mercer County junior Will Hager scored a career-high 41 points in a 72-61 defeat of host South Oldham.

Girls' highlights:

■ Lexington Catholic opened on a 25-4 run en route to a 79-victory against Bourbon County in Paris. Caroline Lynch was 11-for-13 at the free-throw line and finished with a game-high 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Caroline Osbourn added 17 points, and Bailey Browning had nine assists for the Lady Knights. Asia Sims had 23 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks for the Lady Colonels.

■ Princess Stewart's double-double — 24 points and 13 rebounds — sent No. 7 Franklin County past Bryan Station 65-40 in Lexington. She also had three assists and three steals.

By now, the Philadelphia 76ers' plan to lose now to win later is no secret. With the support of owner Josh Harris, General Manager Sam Hinkie stripped the roster bare, with the hope that some short-term misery would help the franchise find its foundational cornerstone(s) through the draft. The players on the current roster have to accept being sacrificed for the future.

"It's hard when you're outmatched," said Michael Carter-Williams, last year's rookie of the year.

Though they likely won't end up with the league's worst record again, the 76ers have been at the center of the tanking discussion for the past two seasons.

"Obviously, it is tough at times," center Nerlens Noel said. "Nobody likes to lose, but we do understand it's a process. We're trying to learn through this whole process. That's something we need to do a better job of. We can't just drop an egg — we have to learn from a loss."

Noel missed all of last season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in his lone college season at Kentucky. He has been relatively durable and a solid shot blocker in his rookie season but remains raw offensively.

"I think it starts with Coach (Brett) Brown, with the positivity he brings to us in the locker room," Noel said. "He's hard on us at times, but he genuinely cares about us and he wants us to continue to develop. We just play as hard as we can. We stay pretty close in this locker room."

■ Phoenix Suns guard Archie Goodwin's recent assignment with Bakersfield in the D-League netted him more than just MVP honors at NBA D-League Showcase Cup. He also earned the praise of his head coach, too.

"You expect a guy who is a good player and has been with us to go down there (and play well)," Suns Coach Jeff Hornacek said. "You want to see what he can do in big games. You want to see his leadership and his defensive ability. To go down there and help the team win the championship was great."

The former Kentucky standout averaged 23.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in three games. He scored 24 points in the Jam's victory in the tournament's championship game.

■ Russell Westbrook scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Kevin Durant added 19 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder moved over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 94-86 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Durant also had eight rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder, who've won 18 of their last 26 games.

Major League Baseball

Seeking power, Cards OK with Reynolds' Ks

The St. Louis Cardinals are prepared to live with the swings and misses, knowing that when Mark Reynolds connects the ball really travels. They have lacked a power bat off the bench, or power anywhere for that matter, and the Pikeville native also could platoon with Matt Adams at first base. Manager Mike Matheny promises he won't have batting coach John Mabry tinker too much with a stroke that's boom or bust.

"We need to capitalize on what his strengths are and not focus on the weaknesses, and realize he's got a power component that's very rare," Matheny said. "Make some subtle changes to maybe improve, but also not be afraid to get up there and try to drive the ball. That's why we did bring him in."

The 31-year-old Reynolds holds the major league record of 223 strikeouts in 2009 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and is just a .229 career hitter, but he hit 44 homers in 2009 and has 21 or more in each of his last seven seasons.

"When there's two outs and nobody on base and I have two strikes, I'm not going to try to hit a ball to second base," Reynolds said. "I'm going to try to drive the ball in the gap and get in scoring position, and I don't want to compromise that."

Tennis

Early Australian routs for Serena, Djokovic

Serena Williams won her first set in 21 minutes on Tuesday night on the way to a 6-0, 6-4 win over Alison Van Uytvanck at the Australian Open. The 18-time major winner has only once lost in the opening round at a Grand Slam tournament, and this is her 58th. One more Grand Slam title and she'll pass Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the all-time list of champions.

"If I could get to 19 in Australia that would be amazing," said the top-ranked Williams, who won the last of her five Australian titles in 2010.

Four-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic shrugged off the effects of a cold to beat No. 116-ranked Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in his first-round match. Djokovic won the first of his seven major titles at the 2008 Australian Open, then won here in three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013.

Stan Wawrinka began the defense of a major crown for the first time with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 100-ranked Marsel Ilhan, taking less than 1½ hours to breeze through the first round.

NFL

Bengals' Dalton added to Pro Bowl roster

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was added to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, replacing the injured Aaron Rodgers. Dalton was a seventh alternate in voting for the Pro Bowl last month.

The last word

Golf Channel co-founder and golfing legend Arnold Palmer on the best part of the network celebrating a 20-year anniversary: